As a homeowner, it can be hard to know where to start in disaster recovery, so we’ve compiled some of the immediate steps you can take to ease the process. During the first week, you’ve only got to manage two things: make a few critical calls to get everything started, and don’t sign ANY contracts until you’ve got your bearings.

First: gather what you need

Don’t worry, it’s not much. All you’ll need is:

• Policy numbers for your insurance and mortgage

• Your temporary mailing address. If you don’t know where you’ll be staying long term, ask a trusted friend if they can accept your mail for you for now.

• A single place to write down things related to your recovery. It could be a notebook, a Google doc, or anything else you can easily access — just make sure you can write in it while on the phone.

Start by calling insurance

We’ve written an in-depth guide to your very first insurance call but here’s the gist:Start a claim, even if you don’t know the full damage.

• Get your claim number and keep it somewhere safe

• Ask about Loss of Use benefits - these will pay for temporary housing, emergency medicine refills, and meals

• Request a certified copy of your policy

• If your house is only partially damaged, ask about preferred vendors for emergency services

Get the full step-by-step breakdown here.

Consider requesting mortgage forbearance

If you have a mortgage, and you’re worried about having money short-term, you can request mortgage forbearance. This is a process where you can temporarily pause your mortgage payments without a late penalty. Here are the tradeoffs to keep in mind:

• If you stop paying your mortgage, you may have more money to spend while you recover

• Interest will continue to accrue while you are not paying your loan, and you’ll have to make up the missed payments at the end of the forebearance period. This will increase the total cost of your mortgage.

Here’s a full guide from Nerd Wallet to managing mortgages after a disaster.

Apply for FEMA assistance

There are multiple types of FEMA assistance, intended to help different types of people:

• If you need Serious Needs Assistance: $770 for immediate emergency needs—gas to evacuate, replace medicine, anything to get somewhere safe, you should apply as soon as possible. You can apply for this whether or not you have insurance.

• Next, there’s Lodging Assistance - this is for your first short-term emergency housing, and will typically be a hotel voucher. If you have insurance, you will likely need to provide proof that this isn’t covered by your coverage. This usually is awarded to people who are in a mandatory evacuation area, whose homes are completely lost or are so damaged they are uninhabitable. It may also be awarded for long-term utility outages.

• After the short-term assistance, there is longer-term Rental Assistance in 3 month increments for up to 18 months after the disaster. This is also only for uninsured or underinsured people. Be very wary of any posts you see about this assistance on social media—if they say it applies to everyone or is automatic, they’re likely not accurate. FEMA assistance will be based on your individual application and will be specific to your needs.

A really important note: FEMA home repair assistance is only for your owner-occupied primary home. If you’ve lost a second home or a vacation home, you will not be eligible.

There are four different ways to apply:

• Visit DisasterAssistance.gov

• Download the FEMA App

• Call the FEMA Helpline at 1-800-621-3362 between 4 AM and 10 PM PT

• Visit a Disaster Recovery Center in person.

Apply to pause property taxes

You can file a “Application for Reassessment of Property Damaged or Destroyed by Misfortune or Calamity” to potentially pause your property taxes. This happens at the county level, so visit your county assessor’s website to find the right form. Here’s the link for Los Angeles county.

You can also call the IRS Disaster helpline at 866-562-5227 for more information.

Note: you have up to 12 months from the disaster date to file this, but it’s worth doing before you forget.

Be cautious with contracts and contractors of all kinds

Unfortunately, scammers and untrustworthy contractors often try to take advantage of disaster survivors, and are likely to approach you. Here are a few ways to protect yourself:

• Get multiple quotes for big jobs. You don’t have work with the first contractor you find.

• Be very wary of any contractor coming door-to-door or asking for personal identifying information like a policy number or social security number. Trying to rush you is a big red flag.

• Ask to see a badge from anyone claiming to work with FEMA or your insurance carrier. This is unlikely to happen in the first week.

• Do not sign any long-term contracts until you understand your insurance benefits.

• Check that any contractor you work with is both licensed and insured in your state. In California, you can look them up on this website.

• Don’t pay with cash—use something with a paper trail, like a credit card, Venmo, Zelle, etc. Keep all your receipts.

Wait to hire a public adjuster until you need them

Public adjusters can be an invaluable resource if your insurance company tries to offer you significantly less money than you believe you deserve. But you should wait to hire one until you’ve receive a preliminary insurance settlement offer!

Adjusters are paid based on a % of what they negotiate on your behalf. It's most efficient to call on them once you've already got a settlement in-hand to negotiate.

Take care of your physical and mental health

Recovery is a long process with many steps, but you have time. If you don’t fill your FEMA application out perfectly today, you can fix it in the future.

Remember: it’s normal to feel overwhelmed, depressed, or anxious. If things become too much, help is available. You can get crisis counseling 24/7 in multiple languages from the National Disaster Distress Helpline: 1-800-985-5990.

Need help managing your recovery? We're here to support you. Text 1-775-477-4400 or schedule a call directly.